Show Notes
In this moving episode of The Actual, my guest is Rabbi Yossi Friedman of Rabbi On Demand. Following the terrorist attack in Bondi on December 14 2025, Yossi became a leading grassroots figure helping Jews, Australians from all walks of life, and tourists process the enormity of the attacks through his memorial prayer services at Bondi Pavillion.
What emerged in the weeks and months through these services was a spiritual place to grieve who and what was lost, to remember the victims and heroes, to connect with each other, and to remember that unity over division is crucial. Beyond the tragedy itself was the extraordinary humanity that emerged afterwards in response to unimaginable violence.
Original music in this episode Kama At Yafa (כמה את יפה) performed by CHUTNEY, from the album Ajar (2024). Courtesy of CHUTNEY/Ben Adler. Used with permission.
More from The Actual
My captivating guest is Linda Margolin Royal, bestselling author and award-winning novel The Star on the Grave. This book began as a screenplay and is now being developed for television. As an adult, Linda discovered that her family survived the Holocaust due to diplomat Chiune Sugihara - the Japanese Oskar Shindler. This discovery changed the course of her work, her writing, and shaped her experience of being Jewish in Australia. Linda shares the challenges of promoting a Jewish story during October 7, and why she remains determined to continue telling stories.
Co-founder and CEO of Allies for a Strong Australia, Mark Leach returns to The Actual. Allies for a Strong Australia is a movement focused on the deep social and cultural fractures in society - where antisemitism is one symptom of this.
It has been 10 months since the Bondi Beach massacre, and in this episode, Michael Britvan shares his story. Michael is a Ukrainian Jew, a father, and husband. He shares the story of his family, beginning with their roots in Odessa and his grandmother’s survival of the Holocaust.
Israel is heading to the polls on October 27 2026, in its first national election since the October 7 attacks. My phenomenal guest is Matan Yaffe, Israeli social entrepreneur, reserve officer, and Chairman of El HaDegel, a new political movement seeking to keep Zionism centre stage in Israeli politics.
In this episode of The Actual, Yoash Dvir, CEO of Technion Australia, describes